Endgate lock



Nov. 18, r1941. ab. BLDAUF 2,263,065

ENDGATE LOCK Filed Feb. l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheetl l nventor Nov.. 18, 1941. P, D, BALDAUF 2,263,065

ENDGATE LOCK Filed Feb. 1, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zhwentor windows Il.

Patented Nov. 194.1

ENDGATE LOCK Philip n. Balsam, Bridgeport, rnd., mmm to General Motors Corporation, Detroit. Mich., a

corporation of Delaware Application February 1, 1940, Serial No. 316,809

1 claims. (ci. 292-26) This invention relates to vehicle bodies and'has particular reference to a latch mechanism and its application to an upwardly swinging door and downwardly swinging end gate tothe rear end of a commercial body.

The object of the invention is to construct a latching mechanism mounted at the meeting line of the door and gate and which iatching mechanismy will hold both the door and the Vendwgate in latched position. Another object of the inven- Figure` 1 is a side view of the rear vpart of a f commercial body showing the door fin raised position and end' gate in lowered position in dotted outline. Figure 2 is a rear end view of the structure of Figure l, with parts broken awaybetter to show details of construction.

Figure 3 is a view of one of the latches secured to the body at the meeting line of the door and end gate, taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3. i e

ure 4.

Figure 6 is a section on the line 6-6 .of` Figure 7.

Figures 7 and 8 are detailed sectionalviews on theA corresponding lines of Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a sectional detailed view on the line 9--9 of Figure 8, the open position of the door being shown in dotted outline.

Referring to the drawings, .the numeral 2l in dicates a commercial body as a' whole. The body has the rear window 4 and rear fenders 6 which project over the usual wheels (not shown) .I The `rear of the body is provided with an upper door 8 lhinged atv I and a lower or end gate I2 hinged at its lower end'at Il. When the door 6 and the end gate l2 are closed, they meet on a common line I6.

If desired, the rear door I may be provided with the rabaste zu at its The body 2 preferably has Figure is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig-l sides to receive the "edge flanges 22 oi the door and the end gate and in between the `flanges 22 and the bottom of the rabbets suitable rubber strips 24 are provided to make a weathertight connection.

-At the side of the opening in the 'rear o1.' the body and at the line I6 there is secured to the body upright 25 the bracket 26, there being one bracket at each side ofthe vehicle, and as the,

brackets are identical a description of one will suiiice for both. The brackets are secured in y place by means of the screws which pass through openings in ears 32 extending beyond the end of the bracket. The bracket is provided with the ears 34 which project away from the bracket and toward the end gate and door, and in the ears 3l there is mounted the ro`d or shaft 36, this rod or shaft preferably being securedjin position.

On the rod 36 thereare turnably mounted the long cylinder 38 and the short cylinder 40. 'I'he long cylinder 38 is provided with a projecting linger 42 near one end and a hook M ladjacent the other end, and at a place substantially diametrically opposite the hook 44, a limiting stopv 46 projects from the cylinder 36. This stop 46 engages with a projecting abutment 48 on the bracket 26 to limit the movement of the cyl- The two cylinders 36 4and 40 meet along the line indicated at and along this meeting line the edge face of the cylinder 38 is provided with a recess 56 while the cylinder 40 is provided with a tongue 58 which projects into the recess 66. The recess56 is considerably wider than the tongue 56 for a reason-which will be later explained.

At the end of each cy1mderias and 4o and adjacent. the ears, springs-6D are provided. One end of the springsf60 is' secured in a recess 62 in the bracket26 while the other end is secured in a recess 64 inthe-cylinder 38 or 40. Thelsprings always urge the cylinders and the hooks M- and 50 into engaging position or the position shown. in Figure 4.

On the inside of the door 8 and of the end gate I2, keepers or catches 66 are mounted. There is one keeper or catch at each side of the door, and of the end gate. 'I'he catches 66 on the end gate are adapted to be engaged by the gaged by the hooks 44 to hold the endigate .ends they are pivoted at -12 to oppositely directed spring 82 has one end 84 secured in a recess in 'ends 88 of the rods are out of engagement with 2 hooks I8 andthe catches 88- on the door are enand door in position. In the position ofthe parts shown in Figure 4, both the door and the end gate are held in closed position by the latching mechanism. .Each catch 88 is secured inp'lace by means of the machine screws 81 which pass through the bracket and the end gate f|2 (or'door 8) and are screwed into the reinforcing iron'.

In order to operate the latch mechanism, the

' rods are provided. These rodsare mounted the finger 42. The ends 08 are always in alignment with the fingers 42k and by turning the handle 80 (which issecured to the stud 18) the stud will be operated to cause the levers 'i4 to swingand thereby to move the rods outwardly and cause the ends 88 of the rods 88 to engage the fingers 42 and move the cylinders 88. The movement of the cylinder 88 a short distance will cause the hook 44 to become disengaged from ,the keeper 08 on the door, and after the keepers have been disengaged the door may be raised. This initial movement of the cylinder 38 will not disengage. the hook l0 from the keeper 88 on the end gate because a limited amount of lost motion is allowed because of the 1 difference in widthV of the recess" compared to the tongue 58. If the operator should desire to release the end gate, it would be necessary to swing the handle 48 farther to the left (Figures 2 and 6) to cause the ends 80 ofthe rods to move the linger 42 a greater distance so as to'cause the end of the recess 58 to engage the tongue 58 to cause a rotationA of the cylinder on the rod or shaft 88. This rotation will cause the hooks Il to become disengaged from the keepers 88 on the end gate to enable the operator to lower the end gate. When the end gate has been moved outwardly the handle may be released to enable the spring 82 to withdraw the rods and also to enable the springs 80 to return the cylinders 38 and 48 to the position shown in Figure 4 and thereby cause a re-engagement of the hook 44 with the keepers 08 on the door. This will hold the door in latched position while the end gate is open. 6

A novel hinge is used to suspend the door.r Two hinges are used and as they are identical, a description of one will suiilce for both.

Both hinges are mounted inside the upper edge of the opening in the vehicle and to mount the hinges the transverse reinforcing bar 8|, generally U-shaped in cross section, is secured to the upper edge. This bar 9| has the inner long flange 92 and the outer shorter ilange 84. The outer flange is outwardly bent at 00 and upwardly bent at 88 and a ilange |00 on the edge of the roof |02 is secured to the outwardly flanged part 88 as by welding and parts 80, 88, and |00 form a rain trough or channel.

The web of the channel 0| is provided with an 0 l" |08 through which there projects part of theframe |08 of the hinge. The framehas the flanges 0 at the bottom thereof, these ilanges being bent in opposite directions byv welding tothe underside of the web of the channel 8|. Over the frame members |08 there is positioned the o'uter frame part I |2. The parts |08 andi |2 may be secured together in any suitable way.` l

The door 8 has rigidly secured thereto the gooseneck bracket ||4. Ihis bracket is forkshaped as indicated by the tines ||0 in Figure 9.

The ends of` these tines have a guide pin 0 .passing therethrough, one end of the guide 'pin being provided with a head |20 which lits on the outside of the frame member |08, while the other pin end is screwed into the other frame member |08. A link |24 is pivoted at |26 between, the tines of the bracket ||4 and is journaled at |28- to thev side frame members |08 of the hinge.

In the movement of the door from the full line position of Figure 8 to the dotted line position, the pintle or pin ||8 will ride in the slot |22 while the link |24 will move on its pivot |28 to cause the door 8 to have an upward and outward movement to prevent the upper edge |30 from binding against the rain trough formed by parts sa and mo.

In Figure 3 the end gate i2 is shown as having an upwardly projecting ange |32 while the door 8 has the downwardly projecting flange |34. In the closed position of the door and end gate the ilange |34 overlaps the flange |32 to prevent the entrance oiv water. If desired, either the flange |32 or the flange |34 may be provided with a strip of rubber similar to the strip 24 to form a weathertight connection.

l. In a latch for a door, a supporting bracket Vrigidly mounted on the :door frame, a shaft mounted in the bracket,.two cylinders mounted for rotation on the shaft, latching hooks on the cylinders, a notch in the end of one cylinder, a tongue on the other cylinder, said tongue pro- Jecting into the notch and said notch being considerably wider than the tongue. operating mechanism, means o'n one ofsaid cylinders adapted to be moved by said operating mechanism to move the cylinder, said one cylinder moving the second cylinder through the interengagement of the notch and tongue.

2. In a latch mechanism for the rear door and the end gate of a vehicle body, said door being hinged at its top edge and said end gate being hinged at its bottom edge, said door and said end gate meeting on a common line, brackets mounted on the vehicle at the sides thereof across the line of Junction of the door and the end gate, latches pivotally mounted on the brackets,

0 catches secured to the door and to the end gate adjacent the latches andadapted to be engaged by the latches to hold the door and the end gate in latched position, the part of each latch holding the door in latched position being movable relative to the part of the latch holding the end gate in latched position, spring means constantly urging said latches into engagement with the catches, and means normally out of contact with the latches and mounted on the end gate and operable from the outside of the vehicle body to operate the latches to cause them to become disengaged from their catches to enable the operation of the end gate or the door.

3. In a latch mechanism for the rear door and the end gate of a vehicle body, saiddoor being and secured as i aeaaoss hinged at its top edge and said end gate being hinged at its bottom edge, said door and said end gate meeting on a common line, brackets mounted on the vehicle at the sides thereof across the,

line of junction of the door and the end gate, latches pivotally mounted on the brackets, catches mounted on the door and on the end gate, said catches being adjacent the latches and adapted to be engaged by the 'latches to hold the door and the end gate in latched position, the part of each latch holding the door in latched position being movable relative to the part of the latch holding the end gate in latched position, spring means constantly urging said latches into engagement with the catches, and means mounted on the end gate and operable from outside the vehicle body to operate the latches to cause them to become disengaged either from the door only or from both the end gate and the door to enable the operation of either the door Cil ed on the vehicle at thesides thereof acrossthe line of junction of the door and the end gate, catches mounted on the door and on the end gate, said catches being adjacent the latches and adapted to be engaged by the latches tohold the l fingers, one finger on each of said latches, rods only, or the operation of both the end gate and V catches mounted on the door and on the end gate, said catches being adjacent the latches and adapted to be engaged by the latches to hold the door and the end gate in latched position, the

vpart of each latch holding the door in latched position being movable relative to the part of the latch holding'thel end gate'in latched position to enable the release of the door without' releasing the end gate,.means constantly urging said latches into.- engagement vwith the catches, two fingers, one finger on each of said latches, rods slidably mounted on the end gate and extending away from each other, means to operate said rods to cause them to move toward the latchesto cause them to be engaged with the fingers to enable the operation of the latches to cause the latches-to release the catches to enable the operation of the door and the end gate. f

5. In a latch mechanism for the rear door and the end gate of a vehicle body, said door being hinged at its top edge and said end gate being hinged at its bottom edge, said door and said end gate meeting on a common line, latches mount'- slidably mounted on the end gate and extending away from each other, means to operate said rods to cause them to move toward the latches to cause the rods to'be engaged with the fingers to enable the operation of the latches to cause the latches to release the catches to enable the operation of the'door and the end gate, or either the door or the end gate.

6. In a latch mechanism, a bracket, a shaft mounted in the bracket, two cylinders pivotally mounted on the shaft and having their ends in juxtaposition, a tongue and recess connection between the juxtaposed ends to enable the movement of one cylinder to cause the movement of the other, said recess being. much wider than the tongue to enable the movement of one cylinder to take place in advance of the other, a hook on each cylinder adapted to engage with a c atch, and a iinger on one of the cylindersadapted to be engaged by an operating mechanism'to move from their catches.

7. In a latch mechanism, a bracket, a' shaft mounted in the bracket, two cylinders pivotally mounted on the shaft and having their ends in juxtaposition, a tongue and recess connection between the juxtaposed ends to enable the movement of one cylinder to cause the movement of the other, said recess being much wider than the tongue to enable the movement of one cylinder to take place in advance of the other, a hook on 'each cylinder adapted to engage with a catch,

cooperating means on the cylinders and on the bracket to limit the movement of the cylinders, and a finger on one o! the cylinders adapted to be engaged by an operating mechanism to move the cylinders to cause the hooks to be disengaged from their catches. y

PHILIP D. BALDAUF. 

